3 Stocks Riding The Shift To Cheaper AI Model Routing

AI costs are exploding, model quality is converging, and Anthropic’s potential US$1.5b–US$4b IPO valuation range is suddenly turning model routing and orchestration into the pipes everyone is watching. When customers can swap between Anthropic, OpenAI, and open-weight systems in a few clicks, pricing power can flip fast. This piece breaks down 3 stocks exposed to that story and what their positioning could mean for your portfolio decisions.

The three stocks covered below are just a sample from this theme, and the full screen surfaced 8 more listed AI cost optimisation and model orchestration providers with equally compelling narratives that are not covered here. To identify potential front runners in this space, head straight into the AI Cost-Optimisation and Model-Orchestration Software Providers screener.

Richinfo Technology (SZSE:300634)

Richinfo Technology builds AI-focused cloud platforms like Rich AICloud and RichBoost, plus office and telecom software used across Chinese enterprises. It generates about CN¥1.6b in sales from China and carries a roughly CN¥9.2b market value, putting it firmly in mid-cap territory.

Richinfo Technology fits this AI cost optimisation and orchestration theme because its Rich AICloud and AI-native infrastructure tools can help enterprises manage and tune heavy AI workloads across clusters and clouds. The stock combines that angle with analysts’ current earnings growth forecasts and a P/E that sits below the wider China IT sector. This places the focus on how changes in pricing power and workload mix affect what investors are currently willing to pay for that potential growth.

That combination of earnings forecasts and a below-sector P/E is exactly why a closer look at the DCF valuation analysis for Richinfo Technology could reveal where expectations may be mispriced.

Elastic (ESTC)

Elastic powers search and AI across hybrid and multi cloud environments, which puts it right in the path of enterprises trying to route and control heavyweight AI workloads rather than just picking a single frontier model and hoping costs behave.

Elastic runs a search and AI data platform that ingests and analyzes information for use cases like search, security, and observability, generating about US$1.8b from Software & Programming and carrying a roughly US$9.3b market value.

Rapid enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence applications, particularly generative AI, is driving greater compute and data intensive workloads on Elastic's platform, expanding overall consumption and leading to increased annual recurring revenue and customer contract values.

What matters next is how one quiet pressure on Elastic’s model orchestration role shapes the balance between rising AI usage and future margins.

That pressure point is exactly where the full narrative for Elastic shows how Elastic’s AI usage trends could decouple from cost headwinds and reshape the long term risk reward.

DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN)

DigitalOcean Holdings plugs directly into the AI cost optimisation story, offering an agentic inference cloud that helps smaller and mid sized businesses run AI workloads without committing to a single heavyweight model provider.

DigitalOcean Holdings runs a cloud platform for AI and digital native enterprises, earning about US$1.0b from Internet Software & Services and carrying a roughly US$15.6b market value.

Increasing demand for cost-effective, scalable cloud and AI infrastructure, as evidenced by AI/ML revenue growth north of 100% year-over-year and successful migration of large workloads from hyperscalers, positions DigitalOcean to benefit from the broader, ongoing digital transformation among SMBs and developers, supporting sustained revenue growth and potential market share gains.

What really moves the needle from here is how one emerging pressure on AI hosting economics shapes the trade off between future margins and growth.

If that trade off is what you care about, go straight to the full narrative for DigitalOcean Holdings to see how those AI economics might be quietly accelerating or stalling DigitalOcean’s edge.

Curious About What You Might Be Missing?

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• Follow the next wave of AI infrastructure demand before it gets fully priced in by reviewing 89 AI infrastructure stocks quietly building capacity behind the scenes.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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